Keyhole-guard.



No. 707,38I. Patented Aug. I9, |902. F. H. BDS. KEYHOLE GUARD.

(Applicatn filed Feb. 24, 1902.) 'y (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

N0. 707,381. Patented Allg. I9, |902.

F. H. BDS.

KEYHOLE GUARD.

(Application led Feb. 24, 1902.)

(No Mudel.) v 2 Shasta-Silent 2. A

NTTED STATES PATENT OEEICE.1

FLORIS HENRIOUS BOS, O-F HOOGLAND, NETHERLANDS.

KEYHoLE-GUARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 707,381, dated August 19, 1902.

Application filed February 24,- 1902. Serial No. 95,430. (No model.)

.T0 @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FLORIS HENRIoUs Bos,- teacher, a subject of the Queen of the Netherlands, residing at Hoogland, in the Province of Utrecht, in the vKingdom of the Netherlands, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Keyhole-Guards, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object a secret and thief-proof means for closing the keyholes of safes, strong-rooms, money-boxes, and in general all receptacles, whether made in 'metal or wood, which are intended to contain valuables. l Y.

As is well known, of late years the combination principle has been recognized as the most correct means for insuring safety in the construction of the locks of safes and other receptacles for valuables. The essential feature of such locks consists in the provision of a number of constituent elements which are intended to prevent the opening of the lock and to only allow of the same when all said elements are brought into particular places or positions. In the present invention this principle is not applied to the lock itself, but is utilized for rendering it impossible for unauthorized persons to find out the keyhole. The door of a safe provided with this arrangement shows externally a space divided into perfectly equal squares, a 'knob being arranged on each square, and the keyhole is located behind this space. If attempts are made to turn the handlesor knobs, it is found that all the knobs are movable and allow of a little rotation both to right and left. They all turn equally as much and equally stiffly and are confusingly alike. Two or more of these knobs, the position of which is only known to the initiated, are connected with bolts or fasteners. If these boltsv are thrown out of engagement by turning the knobs in question, it is then possible to move some slides formed out of a number of the sections and to reach the keyhole.

Some examples of construction are shown in the accompanying drawings, Figure l being a front view of the door with the keyhole masked; Fig. 2, a similar View with the keyhole exposed 5 Fig. 3, a rear View of the door shown in Fig. l; Fig. 4, an arrangement Where three slides are employed; Fig. 5, a cross-section, and Fig. 6 an end view, of the doorl shown in Fig.. l; Fig. 7, a view, on an enlarged scale and in section, of one. of the squares, with the parts thereto belonging, from which the closing device is composed; and Fig. 8, a side view or, rather, cross-section of the slides fm. and n.

Each of these squares or parts consists of a small steel plate a, in which a pin b, with a knob c, is revolubly arranged. The steel plates a are located on the front side of the door-plate d, and all four sides of said plates engage by means of tongues and grooves with one another, and the plates thus form when put together in the manner shown in Fig. l a regularly-divided field. These steel plates are preferably screwed into the door-plate cl by means of screws f in the manner shown in Fig. 7, the screw-pins f being inaccessible from the outside. Each spindle b passes through the door-platef d and is riveted on the rear side of the same to a rectangular piece of steel e.

Aplate g,with rectangular slots,is arranged on the inner side of the door-plate d, in which slots the steel piece eiits, Figs.7 and 3. These slots are so calculated that each of the steel pieces e has a slight movement to right and left; but then, in consequence of its rectangular form, it is arrested. In this manner it is possible for all the knobs to describe a uniform rotation to left or right.

The keyhole o is situated behind one of the numerous steel plates a, and it must notonly be kept secret behind which plate it is, but also which plates have to be displaced, and by. the turning of which knobs this can be made possible in order to give access to the keyhole. For this object three or more of the squares a adjacent to one another are screwed on a common slide,.which is let into a recess of the door-plate d and the perforated plate g andrrnay be moved in the same,together with the three steel plates a, Fig. 3. Two such slides m n are arranged at right angles to one another, of which fm, must be moved upward and then n to the left in order to uncover the keyhole 0. Fig.2 shows the slides m and n in shaded lines, while Fig. 8 shows not only the form of the slides, but also that the slot in the door-plate d is made somewhat narrower than the recess in the plate g. It

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is evident that when the slide m is pushed upward the highest-placed steel plate a, must project outside the field,or space within which the squares are placed. In order that at this place no mark should be formed in time, the strip which is left free on the door around the space or field is beveled off, as shown in Fig. o'. Further, the said steel plate is preferably formed as a whole with the next plate, because otherwise agood connection with the slide m is not well possible. By turning the knobs c the slides m n may be fixed or released to allow of their movement. This takes place in the following manner: Short lever-arms o and w are mounted on the prolonged spindles of the knobs h and t, respectively, Fig. 3, by means of rectangular pieces. These lever-arms engage with bolts 7c and fi, respectively, which are arranged above on the plate g, adjustable in a horizontal direction, and engage in notches in the slide m. These bolts are moved forward by turning the knobs 7L and 1', and according to the direction in which the turning takes place the slide m is released or secured. The knobs h and t' are, further, always turned in opposite directions. If the bolts .7a and l are released, the slide m may be pushed up to a distance equal to the height of one plate a, whereupon it is then possible to move the slide n to an extent equal to the width of one plate a. The keyhole o is then exposed. Two reservebolts p q, which are operated by the knobs 'r s, but are not used for opening the lock itself, have for their object to render useless all efforts to nd out the position of the slides and to release the same by turning all the knobs once to the right and then to the left, as if in this mannerthe bolts 7c and Z be turned back by the continued turning of the other knobs the reserve-bolts p g are brought into action and again lock the slide m, and vice versa. As shown inFig. 3, the reserve-bolt@ lies on the right-hand side and the reservebolt q on the left-hand side of the slide m. The directions of rotation of the two knobs belonging thereto are thus opposite to one another.

The slides m and 1t are secured by guides u against being forced in backward. The steel plates or elements a, which are screwed on the slides m n, are all provided with revoluble knobs, their steel pieces e being let into recesses on the slide. In the case of the highest-placed plate 't of the slide m-that is to say, the one which when the slide is pushed upward projects beyond the field-this steel piece e, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7, is let into the steel plate t itself. The slide n can only be moved after the slide m has been pushed upward, and this slide may also be locked by means of similar bolts, which are moved by other knobs. Of course any desired position maybe selected forthe lock, and the number of the slides and of the bolts and the position of the knobs moving these bolts may be made to form a large number of combinations. Thus, for instance, in Fig. i a device is shown having three slides, and in this arrangement the vertical slide, consisting of four elements, is rst moved outward and then the horizontal slide, composed of two elements, to the right, and, iinally, another vertical slide, consisting of two elements, moved downward in order to free the key-hole.

The arrows shown in Figs. Zand 4 indicate the directions of movement of the slides necessary for closing the keyhole.

In carrying out the invention particular care must be observed that the knobs connected with the bolts are neither more nor less movable and are not movable with more or less difficulty than the other knobs and" that the rotation of these knobs is not checked or `stopped differently in order that a thief may not be brought onto the right track by feeling or hearing. The knobs must alsobe so difficult to turn that they do not alter their position by their own weight. The star form is the best for the knobs, while glass or porcelain is found to be the best material for them, because the lingers in opening and closing the safe leave no traces thereon. If the proprietor of the safe has reason to fear that some one has become acquainted with the handling of the safety device, he may adopt a new combination in a simple manner by shortening or lengthening the leverarms by which the bolts are operated and bringing them into communication with other knobs. The knobs previously employed then again have steel pieces mounted thereon.

I declare that what I claim isl. A keyhole closing or obscuring device, comprising a base or mounting plate, a plurality of connected movable plates arranged over said base-plate, and a plurality of slidepieces carrying upon their outel` surfaces certain of said first-mentioned plates, and means for guiding said slide-pieces; substantially as described.

2. A keyhole closing or obscuring device, comprising a mounting-plate, a plurality of small square plates arranged in a regularlydivided field over said plate, means of engagment between said small plates adapted to permit them to move laterally relatively to each other, a plurality of slide-pieces arranged in such manner that one of them cannot be moved until the next has been moved, aplurality of said small square plates arranged on the outer surface of each slide-piece, means for guiding said slide-pieces and means for connecting said small square plates to the mounting-plate and the slide-pieces from the rear.

3. A keyhole closing or obscuring device, comprising a plurality of small interengaging square plates arranged in a regularly-divided field, a plurality of sliding plates arranged in such manner that one of them cannot be moved until the next has been moved, and upon each of which sliding plates a plurality of said IOC IIO

small square plates are mounted, a spindle passing through each small square plate, a rectangular piece upon the inward end of each spindle, a rectangular space somewhat larger than each rectangular piece in the surface of the back platearound each rectangular piece, a knob attached to the outward end of each spindle in front of the small square plates, and locking devices for the said sliding plates, said locking devices being adapted to be operated by the limited rotation of certain of said knobs.

44:. A keyhole closing or obscuring device, comprisinga plurality of small interengaging square plates arranged in a regularly-divided field, a plurality of sliding plates arranged in such manner that one of them cannot be moved until the next has been moved, and upon each of which sliding plates a plurality of said small square plates are mounted, a spindle passing through each small square plate, means for allowing a limited rotation in both directions to each of said spindles, a knob on the outer end of each spindle, lever-arms connected to certain of said spindles behind said small plates, bolts adapted to be operated by said certain spindles, and slots in said sliding plates into which the ends of said bolts are adapted to enter. l

5. A keyhole closing or obscuring device, comprising a plurality of small interengaging square plates arranged in a regularly-divided field, a plurality of sliding plates arranged in such mannerthat one of them cannot be moved until the next has been moved, and upon each of which sliding `plates a plurality of said small square plates are mounted, a spindle passing through each small square plate, means for allowing a limited rotation in both directions to each of said spindles, a knob on the outer end of each spindle, means adapted to be operated by a rotation in one direction of certain of said knobs for locking said sliding plates, and means adapted to be operated by a rotation in the reverse direction of certain other of said knobs for locking said sliding pieces. Y

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

v FLORIS HENRICUS BOS. Witnesses:

THOMAS HERMANUS VERHAvE, AUGUST SIEGFRIED DocEN. 

